This research review found that xanthan gum—a natural polymer from bacteria—can help drugs stick around longer on skin and mucous membranes and release more slowly. It's already widely used in beauty products like lotions and shampoos, and scientists are exploring it for delivering medications through skin patches, films, and gels.

This wasn't an experiment—it was a literature review where researchers analyzed existing studies about xanthan gum's chemical properties and how it's being used in different drug delivery systems (tablets, hydrogels, nanoformulations, etc.).

Funding not disclosed in abstract